Ottawa is displaying the American flag in front of its city hall to commemorate the 4th of July, but some Canadians think the city should reconsider the gesture amid trade war tensions.
The City of Ottawa confirmed to Now Toronto on Friday that it will be flying the American flag at Marion Dewar Plaza throughout the day in recognition of the American Independence Day.
According to the city’s Protocol Advisor Daniel Francoeur, the move follows the government’s flag protocol procedures, which requires Ottawa to fly any flags of countries that Canada maintains a diplomatic relationship with on their national day.
“This is consistent with the City’s flag protocol procedures and reflects Canada’s formal diplomatic relations with the United States,” Francoeur said in an email statement.
National flags provided to the city’s government are currently displayed from dawn into sunset in front of city hall, and are located in between Canada’s and Ottawa’s flags.
This protocol has been in effect since June 2006, when the city implemented it in recognition of its ethnically diverse population.
A list of countries’ recognized national days in Ottawa include 191 nations other than the U.S. as of January. Besides the American flag, today the city is also flying Rwanda’s flag, as it is commemorating its Liberation Day.
The protocol also requires Ottawa to display flags from countries which have officials visiting the city through the duration of their stay “as a gesture of respect and friendship.”
Groups that are directly related to the city also have the chance to submit a request to have their flags displayed during specific days that reflect “awareness, celebration, importance, commemoration or promotion.”
Nevertheless, some Canadians are questioning the practice, especially since the country has tension with its southern neighbour since the U.S. President Donald Trump implemented a series of tariffs on Canadian goods and made comments about annexing the country.
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“That’s ridiculous. By the way, does [the] USA fly the Maple Leaf on Canada Day?” one Reddit user questioned.
“Will it be flying at half-mast? Because that country is dead to us,” another user said.
“Maybe avoid bad optics by ditching ‘protocol’ when the ‘ally’ country has been constantly antagonizing, and threatening to annex your country for the past six months?” a different user suggested.
Meanwhile, other residents seem to think that Canada should be following regular practices and keeping its part of the partnership.
“Doing our part to maintain strained ties is important,” one user said.
“In fairness, this has always been standard practice so it’s not a change,” another user said.
“Good! We are brothers in arms, family and friends. I wish my American friends a happy Independence Day just as many of them wished us a happy Canada Day,” a different user said.
